With an "Absurdity Percentage" – the number of teams in a
division divided by the number of All-Americans they sponsor
– of 83.8, I thought MCLA Division II was going to
walk away with the prize this spring.

Oh, ye of little faith.

With orange slices undoubtedly dancing in their heads, the MCLA
Division I coaches handed out 103 All-American plaques among the 94
teams they had this year, moving us completely out of the
fractional sphere. We're through the looking glass and into whole
numbers now, folks, with an unprecedented Absurdity Percentage of
110.

In my perpetual quest to stop the licentious All-American arms
race that has emerged in the past decade among the divisions that I
cover, I've been putting together the Coyne All-America team. My
squad consists of just 12 players – the standard 10 plus an
LSM and FOGO – along with a player and coach of the year.

Without further ado:

Coyne's MCLA Division I All-Americans

Attack – Ted Ferrin, Senior – Brigham
YoungSometimes the math does the weeding out process. Ferrin
led the nation in goals (81), assists (51) and points (132),
averaging a stunning 6.0 points per outing (good for second in the
country). Throw in the fact that he did it against one of the
toughest schedules in the association while being a marked man
after leading the Cougars to a national title in 2011, and Ferrin
made this pick easy.

Attack – Scott Heberer, Senior – Cal
PolyThe Mustangs had plenty of offensive talent stockpiled for
their run to the No. 1 seed in the tournament and their 21-2
record, but Heberer was the glue that held the whole thing
together. The numbers were there – 42 goals and 37 assists
for a team-best 79 points – but just the threat of what he
could do opened the door for the likes of Matt Graupmann, Olivier
Schmied and Brian Kovary. Although Poly managed to survive a couple
of games this year without Heberer, the Mustangs wouldn't have come
close to their heights without him.

Attack – Tyler Novotny, Junior –
PittsburghHe had a decent year in 2011 after transitioning from NCAA
Division I St. John's with 36 goals and 10 assists, but Novotny
turned it up a notch this spring. He finished with 67 markers and
17 dimes, and more importantly, he guided the Panthers to a 12-3
mark and their first-ever trip to the MCLA national tournament. The
most important game for Pitt on its way to the tourney was the
upset of Buffalo – the Bulls only had one loss during the
regular season – and Novotny dropped a sixer along with an
assist.

Midfield – Alex Hultgren, Senior –
BuffaloThe Bulls were a three-headed offensive monster (with Kurt
Stavdal and Tom Sudek), and Hultgren provided the most complete
package out of the midfield. He was second in goals with 25 (behind
Stavdal) and tied for the lead in assists (with Sudek) at 17.
Buffalo would have been severely hamstrung with any of these three
off the roster, but there's no way the Bulls would have come close
to their 14-2 season or PCLL sweep without Hultgren.

Midfield – C.J. Jacobs, Junior – UC Santa
BarbaraThe credit for much of the Gauchos' national resurgence
will go to the prodigal return of coach Mike Allan, and that's not
unreasonable, but a lot of it has to do with the maturation of
Jacobs. His numbers don't blow your mind (21g, 8a), but if you put
Jacobs' accomplishments in the context of the methodical Santa
Barbara offense (which produced a 13-4 record), he's second in
goals and third in assists out of the midfield. He also hit those
marks while consistently getting a pole.

Midfield – Spencer Robertson, Senior –
OregonThe Ducks weren't dripping with talent like they have been
in year's past, but the evolution of Robertson was a vital reason
Oregon was able to roll to the PNCLL auto bid. Primarily a
scorer out of the midfield last year (37g, 9a), Robertson expanded
his game. He still kept his nose for the net (team-leading 40
goals), but also became a gifted playmaker (team-high 32 helpers).
Without the improvement in his game, the Ducks are nowhere near
what they were in 2012.

Faceoff Specialist – Charlie Pantiakos, Freshman
– ClemsonAlthough they flamed out in the SELC tournament, this year
was a big one for the Tigers as they not only put together a
national schedule, but had the talent to beat the likes of Florida
State, Colorado and New Hampshire. Pantiakos was the quiet key to
that. At 6-foot-6 and 205 pounds, Pantiakos isn't built like your
prototypical FOGO, but the numbers – 200-for-265; 75.5% -
don't lie. Pantiakos also chipped in with a pair of goals and three
assists in 16 games.

Long-stick Middie – Matt Walrath, Senior –
ChapmanWalrath, who has spent the last three years dominating
between the lines for the Panthers after transferring from NCAA
Division III Stevens (N.J.), was closer to being Lacrosse
Magazine's Preseason Player of the Year than you'd probably
guess (ASU Dylan Westfall was given the honor). From the moment he
showed up in Orange County – including the national
semifinals in 2010 when he brought the Denver crowd to its feet
with the rare LSM trifecta of goal-faceoff-win-goal in the span of
about 10 seconds – he has owned the position. He put a
cap on it with 12-goal, three-assist campaign along with a
mind-numbing 158 ground balls.

Defense – Ian Anderson, Senior – Arizona
StateThe defense just needs to hold on until the offense
matures. That was the mindset for the Sun Devils this spring,
and thanks to Anderson, they were able to do just that. Leading a
unit that held opponents under double-digits for the first seven
games of the season, Anderson gave his team some breathing room to
set up their eventual run to the semifinals. The Devils have had an
epic three-year run since 2010 and Anderson has been as big a
reason as anyone for that success.

Defense – Wes Binder, Senior – Michigan
StateThe rugged Spartan pole gets better every season, and this
year was certainly his finest as he led Michigan State to cusp of
one of the biggest upsets in tournament history before losing to
top seed Cal Poly in the quarterfinals, 10-9. Binder does well
getting the ball off the turf (team-leading 52 ground balls), but
can also use his length (6-foot-2, 195 pounds) to give the top
attackman in the country very little room to breathe.

Defense – Hayden Porter, Junior – Colorado
StateHow do you quantify what a defenseman is able to
accomplish? With Porter, it's pretty easy: 3.75. That's the amount
of goals the Rams gave up on average in the four tournament games
in Greenville even though their last two contests came against
prolific offenses from BYU and Cal Poly. All of the CSU poles are
solid, but Porter is undoubtedly the top dog (and he finished
second in ground balls with 46), and could shut down any type of
offensive player the MCLA has to offer.

Goalie – Brad Macnee, Junior – ColoradoThis spot has been the unquestioned dominion of Arizona
State's Dylan Westfall, but Macnee has moved to the fore this
season. The Buffs record doesn't look so hot – they finished
at 7-8 – but they were only that good because of Macnee's
ability to thwart even the most prolific offenses. In six of CU's
eight losses, he held the opponent to under 10 goals, and his
numbers for the season (62.4 save percentage; 11.2 saves per game)
stack up with anyone in the country. Macnee's efforts in the
biggest games – 12 saves in a 5-4 win over ASU and 18 stops
in the 11-9 triumph against BYU (the game that got the Buffs
in the MCLA tourney) make him the pick here.

Player of the Year – Ted Ferrin, Brigham Young

If your memory is long enough, the rise of Ted Ferrin isn't
really a surprise. Back in 2007, when Ferrin was a pre-mission
rookie, he dropped a four-spot in the national title game against
Oregon, helping the Cougars win their third national
championship. Ferrin's second national championship last
spring (when he scored three more in the finals) simply confirmed
that the two years atrophying in Croatia on his "Mormon vacation"
couldn't slow him down.

Missing out on a third national championship certainly stings,
especially with the tools he had around him, but the numbers he
posted this spring against that level of competition will go down
in program – and MCLA – history.

Coach of the Year – Marc Lea, Cal Poly

The Mustangs' 21-2 record, No. 1 seed in the tournament and
appearance in the MCLA championship game was a pretty fun ride.
Those accomplishments were enough for Lea to take home the
well-deserved MCLA-sponsored coach of the year kudos. He did one
other thing that makes him my pick, as well.

He snapped a historical trend.

Cal Poly looks like a beast now, but the Mustangs have been
lightweights. They've had decent seasons, won the WCLL a couple of
times, and even had seven previous appearances in the MCLA tourney.
Poly's record in those visits: 1-7. Other than their 13-8 win over
Florida State in '06, the Mustangs have nearly played as many
consolation contests as live tilts at nationals. All that changed
this year with a run to the brink of the national championship,
thanks to Lea.

Was it the coaching? The recruiting? Program culture?
Scheduling? All of the above is the correct answer, and all are
linked to Lea. He'll be tasked again next year to fill some
significant holes in the Mustangs line-up, but everything's
different now. Poly is no longer a lightweight, and they have a
championship-caliber coach.